The present invention is generally directed to cooking and is particularly directed to rotisserie cooking systems.
A rotisserie is a cooking device having a rotating spit on which meat is skewered and then continuously rotated during cooking. One of the long-standing problems with rotisseries has been an inability to obtain accurate temperature readings for the meat being roasted. This is due, in part, to the fact that the meat must be continuously rotated during cooking. The constant motion makes it difficult to obtain a temperature reading. In response to this problem, there have been a number of efforts directed to obtaining temperature readings for rotisserie-cooked foods.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,167 to Holtkamp discloses a cooking oven having a rotisserie spit with a temperature probe provided for insertion into meat and a cable connecting the probe to a temperature responsive device in a wall of an oven. The direct connection by cable between the meat on the rotisserie spit and a fixed receptacle in the wall of the oven precludes continuous rotation of the spit and the meat skewered on the spit. Holtkamp provides a mechanism between a rotisserie spit motor and the spit itself that converts the rotary motion of the motor into oscillating motion of the spit. The spit oscillates through an arc of about 100xc2x0 to 540xc2x0, making it possible to use a meat probe connected to an oven receptacle by a cable of limited length.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,454 to Henyan discloses a thermometer support for a rotisserie whereby a thermometer is insertable into a body of meat or other food disposed on a spit. The rotisserie has a bracket with an upstanding tongue provided with an aperture adapted to receive a portion of the thermometer.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,845 to Dight discloses a combination skewer and thermometer designed to adequately support a roast in a desirably revolving arrangement, and at the same time, has a centrally disposed heat-sensing device, such as a metallic thermometer. The heat-sensing device may be placed at the center of the roast for obtaining internal temperature readings for the roast.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,948 to Mathis discloses a rotary spit thermometer having a built-in device for indicating when meat has been cooked to a desired temperature. The rotary spit assembly includes a hollow shaft insertable through the center of a piece of meat, with a temperature sensitive element arranged in the interior of the shaft. The rotary spit shaft may be driven by an electric gear motor placed at the rear of an oven.
One problem with the prior art advances described above is that an operator must remain close to the oven or barbecue grill used to cook the meat. As a result, an operator is not free to move away from the cooking location while maintaining continuous temperature monitoring of the item being cooked. This is particularly important for gourmet cooking where cooking to exacting temperatures is highly desirable. Another problem with the prior art is that an operator must frequently open the oven or barbecue grill to obtain the latest temperature readings, which may abruptly change the temperature inside the oven or grill. Rapid temperature changes may adversely affect the cooking operation.
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a rotisserie system includes a rotatable spit adapted to secure meat, the rotatable spit including a temperature sensor for recording a temperature of the meat and a wireless transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the recorded temperature. The rotisserie system also preferably includes a remote temperature monitor including a wireless receiver for receiving the wirelessly transmitted temperature and a visual display for displaying the temperature, whereby the remote temperature monitor is movable away from the rotatable spit while remaining in wireless communication with the wireless transmitter of the spit. The wireless transmitter is preferably an infrared transmitter or a radio frequency transmitter and the wireless receiver is preferably an infrared receiver or a radio frequency receiver.
In certain preferred embodiments, the rotatable spit has a pointed end for skewering meat, a handle end and a shaft extending between the pointed end and the handle end. The rotatable spit also preferably includes one or more electrical contacts accessible at an outer surface of the shaft. The rotisserie system also preferably includes a sensor ring securable over the spit shaft, the sensor ring includes a contact plate engagable with the one or more contacts of the spit shaft for forming an electrical interconnection between the sensor ring and the spit shaft. The sensor ring also preferably includes two or more hollow fork fingers, whereby one of the two or more hollow fork fingers includes a temperature sensor such as a thermistor. In certain preferred embodiments the sensor ring may have four fork fingers that are the rotisserie system may also include a conductive line having a first end connected to the temperature sensor and a second end connected to the contact plate of the sensor ring.
In certain preferred embodiments, the one or more contacts accessible at the outer surface of the spit shaft include a plurality of contacts. In other preferred embodiments, the plurality of space contacts are evenly spaced from one another along the spit shaft. The sensor ring can be placed anywhere along the length of the shaft as long as the sensor ring is in electrical contact with one of the spaced contacts.
The sensor ring may also include a rotatable locking screw adapted for locking the sensor ring in place at a selected location along the length of the spit shaft. When tightened, the locking screw preferably precludes rotary and lateral movement of the sensor ring relative to the spit shaft.
The remote temperature monitoring unit preferably includes data entry keys for selecting one of a plurality of meats for temperature monitoring and a visual display for displaying cooking information related to the temperature readings received by the wireless receiver. The remote temperature monitor may also include a memory for storing cooking data related to the plurality of meats and doneness temperature ranges associated with each of the plurality of meats. The doneness temperature ranges may include temperature ranges for well, medium, medium rare and rare doneness levels. Subroutines for selecting meats and doneness levels for the meats are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/563,813, filed May 3, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, a rotisserie system includes a rotatable spit having a shaft with an outer surface and a plurality of spaced contact pads accessible at the outer surface of the shaft. The rotisserie system also preferably includes a sensor ring including two or more fork fingers projecting therefrom, a temperature sensor in one of the fork fingers, and a contact plate in communication with the temperature sensor, wherein the sensor ring is securable on the shaft in engagement with one of the contact pads so that the contact plate of the sensor ring is in electrical contact with one of the contact pads.
These and other preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below.